Fossil oceanic core complexes recognized in the blueschist metaophiolites of Western Alps and ...

54 Pages·2016·5.25 MB·English

Fossil oceanic core complexes recognized in the
blueschist metaophiolites of Western Alps and Corsica
Yves Lagabrielle, Alberto Vitale Brovarone, Benoˆıt Ildefonse
To cite this version:
YvesLagabrielle, AlbertoVitaleBrovarone, BenoˆıtIldefonse. Fossiloceaniccorecomplexesrec-
ognized in the blueschist metaophiolites of Western Alps and Corsica. Earth-Science Reviews,
Elsevier, 2015, 141, pp.1-26. <10.1016/j.earscirev.2014.11.004>. <insu-01096467>
HAL Id: insu-01096467
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Re-Revised version, Earth Science Review, november 2014

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Fossil Oceanic Core Complexes recognized in the blueschist metaophiolites
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of Western Alps and Corsica.
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by
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Yves Lagabrielle (1), Alberto Vitale Brovarone (2) , Benoît Ildefonse (3)

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(1) Observatoire des Sciences de lT'Univers de Rennes, Géosciences Rennes - UMR 6118
263 Avenue du General Leclerc CS 74205, 35042 RENNES CEDEX
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[email protected]
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(2) Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux, et de Cosmochimie (IMPMC), Sorbonne
Universités - UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR CNRS 7590, 4 Place Jussieu, F-75005 Paris, France
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[email protected]
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(3) Géosciences Montpellier, Université Montpellier 2, CNRS UMR 5243, CC60, 34095 Montpellier
cedex 05, FranceA ([email protected])

This work is dedicated to the memory of Bruno Lombardo. As a scientist and as a person, Bruno gave
a lot to the study of Alpine ophiolites. Results discussed in this work also benefit from his work and
his great passion for geology in general.
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Abstract
Tethyan ophiolites show an apparent poorly organized association of ultramafic and mafic rocks. By
contrast to the complete mantle-crustal sections of Semail-type ophiolite sheets, Tethyan ophiolites are
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characterized by a smaller amount of mafic rocks (gabbros and basalts), by the absence of any sheeted
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dyke complex and by the frequent occurrence of oceanic sediments stratigraphically overlying mantle-
derived peridotites and associated gabbroic intrusions. Therefore, Ithey are considered as typical
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remnants of oceanic lithosphere formed in slow-spreading environment or in ocean-continent
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transition at distal passive margins. In the very first models of formation of the Tethyan ophiolites, in
the years 1980, the geodynamical processes leading to mantlSe unroofing were poorly understood due
to the paucity of data and concepts available at that time fUrom the present-day oceans. In particular, at
that time, little work had focused on the distribution, origin and significance of mafic rocks with
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respect to the dominant surrounding ultramafics. Here, we reconsider the geology of some typical
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metaophiolites from the Western Alps and Corsica, and we show how results from the past decade
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obtained in the current oceans ask for reassessing the significance of the Tethyan ophiolites in general.
Revisited examples include a set of repre sentative metaophiolites from the blueschists units of the
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Western Alps (Queyras region) and from Alpine Corsica (Golo Valley). Field relationships between
the ophiolitic basement and the metasEedimentary/metavolcanic oceanic cover are described, outlining
a typical character of the TethyanT ophiolite lithological associations. Jurassic marbles and polymictic
ophiolite metabreccias are uncPonformably overlying the mantle-gabbo basement, in a way strictly
similar to what is observed in the non-metamorphic Appenine ophiolites or Chenaillet massif. This
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confirms that very early tectonic juxtaposition of ultramafic and mafic rocks occurred in the oceanic
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domain before subduction. This juxtaposition resulted from tectonic activity that is now assigned to
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the development of detachment faults and to the formation of Oceanic Core Complexes (OCCs) at the
axis of slow spAreading ridges. This fundamental Plate Tectonics process is responsible for the
exhumation and for the axial denudation of mantle rocks and gabbros at diverging plate boundaries. In
addition, field relationships between the discontinuous basaltic formations and the ultramafic-mafic
basement indicate that this tectonic stage is followed or not by a volcanic stage. We discuss this issue
in the light of available field constraints.
Key words
Metaophiolites; Western Alps; Corsica; mantle exhumation; slow-spreading ridge; Oceanic Core
Complex; detachment fault; gabbro intrusion.
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1. Introduction
Metaophiolites exposed in the internal units of the Western Alps and Corsica were subducted during
the closure of the Piemont-Ligure ocean, a segment of the Jurassic Tethys located between the
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Eurasian and the Apulian-African continents (Bernoulli et al., 1979; Beccaluva et al., 1984; Ricou et
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al., 1985; Pognante et al., 1986; Lemoine and Trümpy, 1987; Weissert and Bernoulli, 1985; Stampfli
et al., 1998; Schmid et al., 2004; Handy et al., 2010, and references thIerein). In contrast with the thick
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sections of large ophiolite sheets such as the Semail Nappe in Oman, the Western Alps and Corsica
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metaophiolites are characterized by a relatively small amount of mafic rocks (metagabbros and
metabasalts), by the absence of any sheeted dyke complex anSd by the frequent occurrence of oceanic
sediments stratigraphically overlying variably hydrothUermalized mantle-derived peridotites and
associated gabbroic intrusions. These associations, which do not fit the "Penrose" three-layers model
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(Anonymous, 1972), also characterize the ophiolites of the Appennine belt as recognized by many
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geologists since 1960 (e.g., Decandia and Elter, 1969; 1972; Elter, 1972; Cortesogno et al., 1975;
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Barrett and Spooner, 1977; Abbate et al., 1980; Molli, 1996). During the last 30 years, authors have
highlighted the strong affinities between th e Tethyan ophiolites of the Alpine blueschist units and the
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oceanic lithosphere emplaced at present-day slow spreading ridges (Lombardo and Pognante, 1982;
Tricart and Lemoine, 1983, 1991; LaEgabrielle and Cannat, 1990; Lagabrielle and Lemoine, 1997). In
the mean time, similar observatioTn highlighting the processes of mantle and lower crustal sections
exhumation were reported fromP the Northern Apennine ophiolites (Molli 1995; 1996; Tribuzio et al.,
1997). Alternatively, based on the occurrence of continent-derived remnants such as micaschists and
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granitoid clasts in the sedimentary cover of some of these metaophiolites (e.g., Caby et al., 1971;
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Polino and Lemoine, 1984), an origin from the lithosphere formed at the ocean-continent transition
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(OCT) of the ancient Tethyan margins has also been proposed. The model of ―distal-continental
margin‖ environAment for the emplacement of the serpentinized mantle has been applied to the Alps as
well as to the Appennine and Corsica (Lemoine et al., 1987; Boillot and Froitzheim, 2001; Marroni, et
al., 1998, 2001; Manatschal and Nievergelt, 1997; Froitzheim and Manatschal, 1996; Desmurs et al.,
2002; Manatschal and Muntener, 2009; Vitale Brovarone et al., 2011; Meresse et al., 2012; Masini et
al., 2013; Beltrando et al., 2014). Therefore, it is now established that the Tethyan ophiolites have
been sampled from different regions of the Tethys ocean, including the distal, hyper-extended passive
margins and the more internal (ultra-?) slow-spreading center (see review in Lagabrielle, 2009).
As our knowledge of the Alpine ophiolite geology was increasing, fundamental progresses were also
being made in our understanding of the formation of the lithosphere at slow- and ultra-slow-spreading
ridges. In particular, the concept of oceanic core-complexes (OCC) now explains how mantle rocks
and gabbros are exposed on the seafloor by large detachment faults (e.g., Escartin et al., 2003, 2008;
Smith et al., 2008; MacLeod et al., 2009; Escartín and Canales, 2011). This provides clues to decipher
the significance of some puzzling Tethyan ophiolite associations in regions where the Alpine
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deformation was regarded as the major cause of ophiolite dismembering. In this article, we show how
our knowledge of the OCC architecture helps understanding the apparent poorly organized association
of metagabbros, serpentinites and metabasalts forming the oceanic basement of blueschist units of the
Western Alps and Corsica. A similar comparison has been successfully conducted in the Chenaillet
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Ophiolite in the Franco-Italian Alps, which represents a well-preserved ocean-floor sequence that was
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only weakly overprinted by Alpine metamorphism during its emplacement in the Alpine nappe stack
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(Manatschal et al., 2011). Lithological similarities with slow spreadinRg ridges were also reported from
the Northern Apennine ophiolites (Tribuzio et al., 1999; 2000; Principi et al., 2004).
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2. The metaophiolites of the Western Alps blueschists units : a case study in the Queyras region
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2.1. Regional geology, age of metamorphism
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The Alpine ophiolites form discrete tectonic Mbodies scattered within the most internal units of the
Alpine belt (fig. 1). They were emplaced following the closure, subduction and exhumation of some

remnants of the Piemonte-Ligurian oceanD. Their metamorphic overprint developed during subduction
and collision events at various metamorphic conditions, from low-pressure (prehnite-pumpellyite-
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facies) and medium-pressure (blueschist-facies) to high-pressure (HP) (eclogite-facies) conditions.
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The blueschist-facies ophiolite bodies are small-sized and are included within large volumes of
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oceanic metasediments : the Schistes Lustrés (s.s.). By contrast, the eclogite-facies metaophiolites,
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such as the Monviso, Lanzo and Zermatt units are more voluminous, and are associated with restricted
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volumes of metasediments.
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The Schistes Lustrés tectono-stratigraphic complex hereafter the Schistes Lustrés complex is
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composed of a stack of units comprising dominant oceanic metasediments (Schistes Lustrés s.s.) and
their metaophiolite basement rocks in various proportions (Deville et al., 1991; Lemoine, 2003). In the
Southwestern Alps, the blueschist-facies terranes of the Schistes Lustrés complex are well exposed in
the Queyras region (fig. 2). The Queyras units lie structurally above the eclogite-facies Monviso
metaophiolites, which in turn overlies the Dora-Maira internal crystalline massif representing the
eclogitized distal European margin and including ultra-HP slices. U/Pb ages of coesite-bearing rocks
from the Dora-Maira massif (Tilton et al. 1991; Gebauer et al. 1997; Rubatto and Hermann, 2001)
suggest that crystallization occurred at 35 Ma under PT conditions of more than 30 kbar and 700°C
(Chopin, 1984). Fission track data (Gebauer et al., 1997) show that these Ultra-HP rocks attained
250°C at ca. 29 Ma, implying very rapid cooling and decompression (see also Rubatto and Hermann
2001). The (ultra-) HP metamorphism in the Dora-Maira massif occurred about 10 Ma later than the
eclogitic peak in the Monviso units. The age of the eclogitization of the Monviso ophiolite is estimated
to be 49 ± 2 Ma using the Ar/Ar method (Monié and Philippot, 1989) and the Lu/Hf method (Duchêne
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et al., 1997b), and 62 ± 9 Ma using the Sm/Nd method (Cliff et al., 1998). The contact separating the
blueschist Queyras units from the eclogitic Monviso units is a polyphased extensional shear zone
interpreted to have accomodated the exhumation and uplift of the deeper and more internal units
during the late orogenic stages (Ballèvre et al., 1990). To the west, the Briançonnais units of the
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intermediate European margin are retrothrusted over the Schistes Lustrés complex.
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In the Queyras area, the Schistes Lustrés complex is well exposed alonIg the Guil valley and along the
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Aigue-Blanche valley, in the surroundings of St Véran (fig. 3). It shows different degrees of Alpine
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metamorphism, from low-grade blueschist to blueschist-facies conditions, followed by late
greenschists-facies overprint (Schwartz et al., 2000, 200S6; Agard et al., 2001). Fission track
thermochronology on apatites and zircons suggests that Uthe western Queyras possibly cooled below
300 °C between 39 and 31 Ma (Schwartz et al., 2007). The onset of exhumation of the Schistes
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Lustrés complex is broadly contemporaneous with the initial continental subduction of the Dora-Maira
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massif. The cooling evolution of the Queyras Schistes Lustrés and the Mont Viso after 30 Ma is
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regarded as synchronous with the onset of exhumation of the Dora-Maira massif.

Three superposed units are distinguished Din the Schistes Lustrés complex of the Queyras area based on
detailed geological mapping and analysis of metamorphic overprint (Lagabrielle, 1987, 1994;
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Lagabrielle and Polino, 1988; Tricart et al., 2003; Schwartz et al., 2013) (Figs. 3 and 4). The
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metamorphic overprint decreases upsection, and each unit displays different lithostratigraphic
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sequences that are summarized as follows, from the bottom to the top.
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a. The lower unit consists of 10 % ophiolites and 90 % metatediments. The ophiolites are composed of
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dominant serpentinites and minor intrusive metagabbros and metabasalts. They form a thin continuous
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body resting tectonically atop the Mont Viso eclogitic unit (fig. 3 and 4). The metasediments consist
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of a thick pile of dominant calcschists affected by kilometer-sized to decimeter-sized recumbent folds
representing the original cover of the ophiolites (Lagabrielle, 1987, 1994). The calcschists overlie
marbles and metaradiolarites, the typical association forming the cover of the Late Jurassic Tethyan
metaophiolites (Lemoine et al., 1970). The calcschists contain numerous olistoliths of ophiolitic
material, together with layers of ophiolitic metabreccias, phyllitic marbles, metacherts and
micaschists. Some of the largest mafic olistoliths, such as the pillow lavas of the Roche Mouloun
massif (fig. 3) still exhibit well preserved remnants of their primary oceanic sedimentary cover (Le
Mer et al., 1986). A Late Cretaceous age for the calcschists has been proposed by analogy with well-
preserved sedimentary sequences exposed in the Apennines (Lemoine et al., 1970; Lagabrielle 1987
and references therein), and because of the occurrence of possible relicts of planktonic microfaunas
(Lemoine et al., 1984; Marthaler et al., 1986; Lagabrielle, 1987). The thickest ophiolitic metabreccias
levels have a mafic composition and are associated with gabbroic and ultramafic olistoliths in the
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northern part of the study area, around the Bric Bouchet summit (fig. 3). They are interpreted as
debris-flows of basaltic composition (Lagabrielle and Polino, 1985).
b. The intermediate unit shares many characteristics with the basal unit. It displays similar
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metasedimentary suites including a rich variety of hm-sized ophiolitic olistoliths that are best exposed
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in the area between Rouchon and Col Agnel (fig. 3). By contrast to the lower unit, the ophiolitic
basement of the intermediate unit is not continuous. It consists of aI series of boudinaged slices of
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metabasalts, metagabbros and serpentinites exposed in the following massifs from north to south: the
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Pelvas d’Abriès metagabbros, the Pic des Lauzes-Peyroun metagabbros and metabasalts, the Crête des
Lauzes serpentinites, the Rocca Bianca metagabbros and metSabasalts, the Farneireta serpentinites and
the Tête des Toillies metabasalts. In the intermediate unitU, but outside the study area, near the village
of St Véran (fig. 3), relicts of radiolarians have been discovered within folded metacherts lying atop
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the serpentinites of the Roche Noire massif (de Wever and Caby, 1982). This confirms the Middle-
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Late Jurassic age assigned to the ophiolitic basement in the southwestern Alps region, on the basis of
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lithostratigraphic comparisons with the Apennines ophiolites (Lemoine et al., 1970), and additional
discovery of fossil radiolarites in blueschis t ophiolitic units close to the Rocca Bianca massif, south of
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the study area (Schaaf et al., 1985; de Wever et al., 1987).
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c. The upper unit is the largest unit exposed in the Queyras region. It consists of dominant calcschists
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and generally lacks ophiolitic material. It tectonically overlies both the lower and intermediate units.
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Its Late Cretaceous age has been proposed based on the discovery of possible relicts of planktonic
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foraminifera (Lemoine et al., 1984).
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2.2. Geology of the Pelvas-Taillante ophiolitic complex
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The Pelvas-Taillante ophiolitic complex belongs to the ocean basement of the intermediate unit. It is
composed of a few mafic and ultramafic bodies exposed on both sides of the Guil valley, north and
south of the La Monta village (fig. 3). To the north, the Pelvas d’Abriès (or Pic du Pelvas, or Monte
Palavas) is a pyramidal body, about 1 km2 large, made up of layered, locally pegmatitic gabbro
associated with minor serpentinite slices along its western border (figs. 5, 6 and 7) (Lagabrielle et al.,
1985). The gabbros are typically high level dominant Ca-Mg and minor Fe-Ti gabbros and troctolites.
Rare, late doleritic intrusions are observed, indicating late exhumation close to the sea-floor. At the
southeastern corner of the Pelvas body, dark layers of ultramafic composition, a few meters thick, are
interlayered within the gabbros (fig. 7). They have been first interpreted as cumulate-like units (Bearth
et al., 1975). More recently they were regarded as ultramafic intrusions escaped from the base of a
magma chamber within higher-level gabbros (Ambrics and Bertrand, 1999). The marks of both
oceanic and Alpine metamorphism are frequent. A foliation defined by a layering of flaser-gabbros
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levels is well developed in the NE corner. Flaser-gabbros are crosscut by undeformed veins of more
evolved magmatic material indicating that this foliation is of oceanic origin (Ambrics and Bertrand,
1999).
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To the south, the Peyroun-Taillante ophiolitic complex is composed of an assemblage of various mafic
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and ultramafic slices, as follows, from north to south (figs. 8 and 9).
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(1) The magmatic breccias of the Peyroun body consist of brecciateRd metadolerites intruded by two
generations of more differenciated, light coloured magmatic rockCs. The texture is typical of hydraulic
fracturation. These rocks have been interpreted as an assemblage of mafic dikes from the top of a
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small magma chamber hosted by mantle rocks and later cross-cut by differenciated magmas (Pinet et
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al. 1989). The leucocratic rocks were dated at 196 +/- 13.9 Ma (Carpena and Caby, 1984), but this age
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is highly questionable.
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(2) The Pic des Lauzes body is composed of basal layered metagabbros underlying a metavolcanic
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sequence made up of alternating pillow-lavas, pillow metabreccias and pelagic metasediments
(marbles and schists). Based on a detailed field analysis of the relationships between the metabasalts
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and the metagabbros, Pinet et al. (1989) concluded that the volcanic sequence was emplaced directly
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on the gabbros as they were exposed on the seafloor. Metabasaltic dikes cross-cutting the metagabbros
can be observed in the numerous Tvoluminous blocks, that compose the paleo-rock fall of ―La Roche
Ecroulée‖ (see location in figPs. 8, 9 and 10). These spectacular outcrops (fig. 11) show that the
gabbros were already at a shallow level when they were cross-cut by the basalts.
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(3) The Crête des Lauzes body is composed of fully serpentinized peridotites. The ultramafic rocks lie
in tectonic contact oCver the metabasalts of the Pic des Lauzes body (fig. 9). A thin tectonic slice of
metagabbros is observed within this tectonic contact (fig. 8). The ultramafic body progressively thins
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southwards where it forms the basement of the Taillante pelagic metasediments. The tip of the
ultramafic body corresponds to the hinge of a km-wide recumbent fold. Similar folds are numerous,
though less visible, in the study area, as represented in cross-sections of figure 4.
The Pelvas metagabbros have been early considered as cumulate gabbros emplaced in a small magma
chamber (Bearth et al. 1975). In their reconstruction of the paleo-oceanic basement, Pinet et al. (1989)
consider that they formed the core of a km-wide magma chamber, intrusive into the surrounding
mantle rocks, and that they were possibly connected to the gabbros of the basal part of the Pic des
Lauzes before the Alpine tectonics. The magmatic breccias of the Peyroun are regarded as the upper
part of this magma pocket composed of mafic products crosscut by doleritic and differenciated dikes.
2.3. Lithostratigraphy of key-sections along the Pelvas-Taillante complex (figs. 12 to 14)
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The metasedimentary sections associated with the metagabbros of the Pelvas body are well exposed at
the base of the western flank of the massif, and on its northeastern corner. Along the crest immediately
south of the Col d’Urine, the sequence is overturned, and light-colored, silicic marbles assignable to
the Late Jurassic form a 10 m high cliff beneath the metagabbros. The contact between the marbles
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and the metagabbros is primary as evidenced by the occurrence of small metagabbros debris in the
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marbles close to the metagabbros (fig. 13; Lagabrielle et al., 1984, Ballèvre and Lagabrielle, 1994).
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The tectonic foliation of the metagabbros, parallel to the magmatic bRedding is oblique to this contact,
indicating a pre-Alpine origin for this deformation (fig. 13). The marbles are underlain by a succession
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of detrital layers of various lithologies including serpentinized metabreccias with gabbroic clasts and
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reworked ophicalcite debris. Thin levels of marbles can be observed within the metabreccia
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succession. Along the western border of the Pelvas massif, in the Sagnes Clauses and Peyra Plata
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areas, the gabbros are separated from the metasediments by a few meter-thick layer of serpentine-
schists. The ultramafic rocks are overlain by ultramAafic or gabbro-rich metabreccias and by alternating
marbles and calcschists. Serpentine metabreccias including gabbro olistoliths associated with basaltic
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metabreccias (now prasinites) are observed over the marbles and calcschists. Primary sedimentary

contact between ultramafic breccias and DJurassic marbles are well exposed along these sections (fig.
13).
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The metasedimentary sections assTociated with the Peyroun-Taillante bodies are considerably thicker
than the sections exposed arouPnd the Pelvas massif. The most complete sequence is exposed west of
the Crête des Lauzes along the suspended valley of the Lakes Foréant and Egourgéou (figs. 8 and 9). It
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has been deposited over the serpentinized peridotites of the Crête des Lauzes. The basal levels of the
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sequence consist of talc-schists and chloritites passing progressively to serpentinite metabreccias and
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ophicalcites (fig. 14). These ultramafic-rich layers are overlain by marble layers and rare calcschists,
which in turn arAe capped by a 20-30 m thick formation of metabasalts alternating with thin layers of
pelagic metasediments. The metabasalts underlie a thick sequence of metasediments that form the
entire cliff of the Crête de la Taillante. This sequence includes calcschists at the base, and alternating
layers of marble, quartzite, and basaltic metabreccias (now prasinites) in its upper part. These
metasediments form km-scale recumbent folds well observed in the Crête de la Taillante cliff (fig. 9).
2.4. Geological observations in the Farneireta-Rocca Bianca ophiolitic complex (figs 15, 16)
The Farneireta-Rocca Bianca complex belongs to a group of ophiolitic bodies lying in the highest
regions of the Aigue Blanche and Ubaye valleys (Tricart and Lemoine, 1983; Tricart et al., 1985) (fig.
15). East of the village of St Véran, this group constitutes a rich assemblage of various lithologies
belonging to the oceanic paleobasement, and includes serpentinized peridotites, ophicalcites,
metagabbros and metaferro-gabbros, pillowed metabasalts and pillow-metabreccias. Siliceous light-
grey marbles associated with metaradiolarites are found in contact with the metaophiolitic bodies. This
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association is typical of the Jurassic cover of the Liguro-Piemont ophiolites and outlines the present-
day limit of the top-surface of the oceanic basement. The lateral continuity of the Jurassic marble layer
is a key-feature in these ductily deformed regions. It allows to follow the paleo-oceanic basement floor
all along the km-scale folded structures. Locally, ophiolitic sedimentary metabreccias of various
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lithologies are found between the marbles and the ophiolitic basement. They are composed of
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serpentinites, gabbros, and basalt debris mixed in different proportions, and are preserved in restricted
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paleo-depressions. This suggests deposition of clastic products of vRarious lithology in relation with
active oceanic faults. They directly reflect the lithological heterogeneity of the paleobasement, and
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indicate that the seafloor was tectonically active (Tricart and Lemoine, 1983; Lagabrielle and Cannat,
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1990).
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The geometry of the metaophiolitic bodies forming the Farneireta - Tête des Toillies - Rocca Bianca
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complex can be easily reconstructed based on the geological mapping of the ophiolite-sediment
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boundary at a km-scale. As shown on the synthetic cross-sections in figure 15, the structure of the
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ophiolitic basement is characterized by the association of ductile shearing, recumbent folding and
boudinage. This deformation occurred un der relatively high temperature in the early stages of the
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Alpine compression. The Farneireta pyramidal mountain is composed of folded serpentinites and their
marble cover, passing lateraly to metaE-pillowlavas, forming the Tête des Toillies summit (fig. 15). To
the northeast, the marble layer thiTns considerably but can be followed along a few kilometers towards
the Rocca Bianca mafic compPlex. The Rocca Bianca complex forms the head of a major recumbent
fold and comprises a core of metagabbros embedded within basaltic metabreccias and bigenic basalt-
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gabbro metabreccias. At the base of the cliff forming the italian side of the Rocca Bianca summit, the
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marbles are in contact with the metagabbros with a reverse polarity. On the western flank of the Rocca
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Bianca massif, along the valley hosting the upper and lower Lacs Blanchet, the Jurassic marbles are
well exposed anAd their polarity is normal. The primary contact of the marbles with the meta-
pillowlavas and the basaltic meta-breccias can be observed here over very large surfaces (fig. 16).
Field evidence is clear in this area that the sedimentary cover of the ophiolites is lying over a rich
assemblage of various lithologies including massive metagabbros and metabasalts associated with
polymictic ophiolitic metabreccias.

3. Ophiolitic bodies from blueschist units in Corsica : a case study in the Golo valley
3.1. Regional background
Alpine Corsica occupies the northeastern part of the island, and consists of a stack of tectonic units
originally belonging to the Corsica continental margin or to the Alpine Tethys basin, and displaying